Ryan Murphy has answered fan calls, bringing back several original favorites to American Horror Story while adding another major star to its upcoming 13th season.
The 59-year-old television mogul revealed the news on Instagram for Halloween, confirming the return of a star-studded cast.
Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Gabourey Sidibe, and Leslie Grossman are all set to appear in the milestone season.
Additionally, pop superstar Ariana Grande, 32, will join the cast. Grande previously worked with Murphy, Roberts, and Lourd on the two-season series Scream Queens from 2015 to 2016.
No further details regarding the new season’s plot have been released. However, fans speculate the song Murphy featured in his announcement, "I’ll Be Seeing You" by Vera Lynn, hints at a Coven-themed return. Several returning cast members famously played witches in the third season of the anthology.
American Horror Story debuted on FX in October 2011. It quickly became a fan-favorite horror franchise, generating significant anticipation for each new season’s theme.
Fans have long hoped for the return of Jessica Lange, 76, since her last main role as Elsa Mars in Freak Show (Season 4). The Oscar winner made a brief cameo as Constance Langdon from Murder House (Season 1) during Apocalypse (Season 8).
Evan Peters, 38, has also publicly expressed his desire to rejoin the series. He and Sarah Paulson, 50, joked about his potential return at a recent red carpet event, even exchanging glances with Murphy in the audience.
Peters playfully told Entertainment Tonight last month, "I have to call Ryan. I have to talk to him and see what’s up with that. So, maybe we’ll get to it."
The upcoming AHS season marks the first collaboration between Peters and Murphy since 2022’s Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Murphy previously praised Peters in a deleted 2022 Instagram post.
He recounted meeting Peters when he auditioned for Tate, Jessica Lange’s son, in the first season of American Horror Story. Lange herself called him "amazing" after their first scene together.
Murphy described Peters as "the sweetest and kindest person and an absolute professional who gives 200 percent." He specifically lauded Peters’ portrayal of Jeffrey Dahmer.
The producer concluded that Peters’ role as Dahmer demonstrated he is "truly one of the best actors in our industry." Murphy likened his talent to a "young De Niro or DiCaprio," calling him "one of the greatest of all time."